A school bus belonging to Gobindgarh Public School caught fire when a high-tension wire of 11,000 volts fell on it on Wednesday morning.

A school bus belonging to Gobindgarh Public School caught fire when a high-tension wire of 11,000 volts fell on it on Wednesday morning.

There were no casualties. However, the driver and lady attendant jumped out of the vehicle in the nick of time.The bus was on its way to pick up students and staff, and caught fire when it was waiting for a few students near the Laxmi Narayan temple.

The bus did not have an earthing system or grounding because of rubber tyres. Hence, the fire damaged the whole bus.

Firefighters made a considerable effort to do their job. Residents informed the police, who then disconnected the power supply from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office.

The Laxmi Narayan temple was the first stop on the route; the accident could have been tragic had students been present inside the bus.

No complaint lodged in PSPCL

Residents said there was intermittent sparking in the transformer since last evening. They said the power corporation was informed; however, no official came to check in the evening.

On this, PSPCL executive engineer Inderjit Singh said, "We did not get any complaint in the evening. In fact, we were informed about this only in the morning at 8:25am, after which we disconnected the power supply. However, we are looking into the incident."

Second accident in 2 days

On Tuesday, fire engulfed a cotton godown at the residential area in Sangatpura Mohalla, when a high-tension wire fell on it. However, firefighters took control of the situation on time.